Door-hanger.



theirs Tla'rns PATENT Ormea.

JAMES M. HOPKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNOR `TO THE Q. da II.

COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS. V

DOORH-ANGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 655,869, dated August 14, 1900. Application filed January 8,1900. Serial No. 708. (No model.)

T0 all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs M. HOPKINS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door Hangers, of which the following isa specification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

rI`his invention relates to that type of hangers which forms the subject of Letters Patent No. 378,579, of February 28, 1888, to Charles H. Dunham and `is an improvement upon the hanger therein shown; and the object of this invention is to improve the hanger therein shown.

This invention consists in a hanger having the bearing-faces `of its rider-bar provided with gear-racks and the axle of its roller toothed to coperate with such racks; and it consists in further details of construction, as hereinafter described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the hanger as applied to a car, a detail section of the latter being shown. Fig. 2 is a detail section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the Wheel. Fig. 4 is an edge elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is an insideelevation of the hanger, showing a somewhat-modified construction from that of Fig. 2 and Fig. 6 is a bottom plan section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7is a detail section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, showing a modified form of rider-bar. Y

In the drawings are shown a portion of the side wall 10 of a freight-car, the door 11, the hanger 16, secured to the door and provided with rider-bars, the track 15, mounted thereon, the wheel designed to run on said track, and a housing comprising the overhanging roof 13 and a depending face-plate 12, extending slightly below the upper edge of the door, whereby the upper portion of the hanger or hanger-head, the track, and wheels are protected from the bad effects of storms. rFhis track is preferably au inverted-T rail, as shown.

The body of the hanger is shown at 16 and is adapted to be secured to the outer face of the door by means of screws and to project above the upper edge thereof.' The head or rider bar .17 of the hanger projects inwardly from the upper end of the body portion and is longitudinally and vertically slotted, and within this slot there is housed the wheel18, which runsupon the track 15 and upon the axle 19, on which the bearing-surfaces of the rider bar rest. The wheel 18` is circumferentially grooved, as shown, for the purpose of running upon the stem of the T-rail.

The bearing-surfaces of the rider-bar are provided with gear-teeth, and the axle 19 is correspondingly toothed to cooperate with these racks. At each end of the bearing-surfaces of the rider-bar there is located a depending stop-lug 21, which limits the relative movement of the hanger and the wheel.

The gear-racks may extend from end to end of the bearing-surfacea'as shown at 23-that is to say, from one stop-lug 21 to the otheror they may be shorter than the bearing-surfaces, as shown at 20, plane surfaces 22 22 being left at each end of each rack and extending therefrom to the stop 21. The racks may be straight, as shown in Fig. 2, or may be arched, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, and when the arched form is followed the rack may extend continuously between the stops 21 21, as shown at 23 in Fig. 5, or a shorter rack 24 may be used, as shown in Fig. 7, the ends of the bearing-surface of the rider-bar being plain, as shown at 22 22.

It is found in practice that when the bearing-surfaces of a hanger of this type are entirely plane and the axle upon which they rest is smooth the door moves with too much freedom, and any sudden movement or checking of movement of the car tends to displace it. A further disadvantage of this form of construction arises from the fact that the roller tends constantly to work to the center of the rider-bar even though the door may be secured, and hence when the door is to be moved the travel of the roller along the riderbar is only one-half of the length thereof, and as the trunnions of the roller are then at the highest point in the arch the initial movement of the door necessitates actually raising it, and hence one of the important advantages sought to be gained by use of the arched form is lost-viz1., the tendency of the IOO door to move from its open or closed position, due to the upward incline of the rider-bar from its end. The construction herein shown and described, While providing for ample freedom of movement of the door at the pleasure of the operator, retains the Wheel in suitable relation With the bearing-surface with referenceto the position of the door relatively as to the door-opening, as the roller cannot Work to the center ot` the rider-bar without rotating, and such rotation is prevented by the friction of its periphery upon the track. It provides suicient friction, however, to overcome the tendency to the accidental movement of the door, and this is especially true when the bearing edges have plane surfaces at their ends, as the toothed axle will not turnV freely thereon, and hence serves as a comparatively-strong though yielding lock for the door both when closed and When entirelyopen, serving also to retard the door as it approaches either limit of its movement, thereby lessening the concussion upon the stops, which are always provided in connection with car-doors.

I claim as my invention- 1. In hanger for ear-doors, in combination, a longitudinally and vertically slotted rider-bar having its bearing edges arched and provided With gear-racks,and a Wheel adapted to enter the slot of the rider-bar and having a toothed axle upon which the rider-bar is supported.

2. In a hanger for car-doors, in combination, a longitudinally and vertically slotted rider-bar having its bearing edges provided with gear-racks through a portion of their length, and a Wheel adapted to enter the slot of the rider-bar and having a toothed axle upon which the rider-bar is supported.

3. In a hanger for car-doors, in combination, a longitudinally and vertically slotted rider-bar having its bearing edges provided with gear-racks through a portion of their length, and having plane portions at each end of each rack, and a Wheel adapted to enter the slot of the rider-bar and havinga toothed axle upon which the rider-bar is supported.

4. In a hanger for car-doors, in combination, a longitudinally and vertically slotted rider-bar having its bearing edges provided with gear-racks through a portion of their length, and having plane portions at each end of each rack and a stop-lug at the outer end of each of such plane portions, and a Wheel adapted to enter the slot of the rider-bar and having a toothed axle upon which the riderbar is supported.

5. In a hanger for ear-doors, in combination, a longitudinally and vertically slotted rider-bar having its bearing edges arched and provided with gear-racks through a portion of their length, and a Wheel adapted to enter the slot of the rider-bar and having a toothed axle upon which the rider-bar is supported.

JAMES M. HOPKINS.

Witnesses:

PAUL CARPENTER, LoUIsA K. GILLsoN. 

